Petrified
by Regina Phalange
Summary: PG to be safe. Takes place during second year, with the basilisk and Chamber of Secrets.


Title: "Petrified"  
Author: Regina Phalange  
Rating: PG to be safe  
Setting: Fifth year at Hogwarts  
Disclaimer: All characters are property of JK Rowling, yada yada... only the plot is mine.  
  
  
  
  
"Petrified"  
By Regina Phalange  
  
  
The Gryffindor common room was uncharacteristically quiet, especially for an evening during the Christmas break. (This was, perhaps, due to the fact that only four young friends had decided to stay at Hogwarts; Ron and Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger. Not only were they the only four Gryffindors, but they were the only four STUDENTS, period. They had all made the decision to stick around, despite the series of attacks that had recently took place. It was their fifth year (Ginny's fourth) and now a creature was not only petrifying students, but killing some of them. The Chamber of Secrets was still safely sealed, and even Dumbledore was stumped as to what could be causing all the chaos.) Ron and Harry were, as usual, playing Wizard's Chess, and Ron was beating Harry badly. Hermione and Ginny were reading a Muggle book together, and the occasional giggle could be heard from their couch in the corner.  
  
"Ron, are you sure you want to finish this game?" Harry asked with a yawn. Ron laughed.  
  
"You're just asking because I'm beating the crap out of you. Either way, I win. You can either be noble, and finish, or be a coward, and go to bed now. What's it gonna be?" he asked with a gleam in his eye.  
  
"Well, this 'coward' is sleepy, so I think I'm gonna quit. We can finish in the morning, 'kay? 'Night." Harry said, then got up before Ron could object.   
  
Ron was then left alone in the common room with Hermione, as Ginny had also gone up to bed. He glanced over at her, his gaze lasting longer than that of a friend's should. But ever since the Yule Ball, Ron realized that he had had feelings for Hermione that went way beyond friendship since their second year, he just wouldn't admit it to himself. But now, it was if he saw her in a different light, and not just her appearance. He had realized what a brilliant and sweet person she was.  
  
"Ron?" Hermione asked quietly, jolting him from his thoughts. He could barely hear her over the crackles and pops of the blazing fire.  
  
"Um, yeah?" he asked uncomfortably, wondering what she was going to say.   
  
He walked across the room and hesitantly sat down next to her on the couch. Without thinking, she shifted her head from the armrest to his shoulder. Ron was glad that it was so dark, because his ears turned pink and his face flushed scarlet.  
  
"Ron, aren't you worried about all these attacks? I mean, I worry every night, just thinking that one of these days it could be me, or Harry, or- you."   
  
She was shaking now, fighting back tears. Ron patted the top of her head uncomfortably, not knowing what to say. Sure, he cried into his pillow nearly every night just thinking about losing Hermione, but he couldn't tell her that. She'd either laugh at him, or be really freaked out. He didn't want to lose their friendship. Still, the way she had looked up at him when she said "you" was not the look of just a concerned friend, but more than that. Ron finally found his voice after a few seconds.  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty scared too. I wouldn't ever want to lose you - or Harry," he added quickly, realizing what he had just said.   
  
He glanced down at Hermione and saw a single tear roll down her cheek. He was tempted to brush it away, but before he could do anything she wiped her face, obviously not wanting him to see her cry.  
  
"Anyway, I want to do some research to find out what creature is killing people this time. The only problem is, the book I need is in the Restricted Section of the library, so I need the Invisibility Cloak. Will you get it for me?" Hermione asked.  
  
Ron nodded, then got up carefully, as her head was still on his shoulder. He ran up to the dormitory, got the cloak, and came back down. He stopped suddenly at the bottom of the stairs, and just stared at Hermione. Next to the glow of the fire, she looked more beautiful than ever. Ron took a deep breath, then walked over to her.  
  
"Um, here, Hermione," he stammered as he handed the cloak to her. Their hands brushed as the cloak was transferred, and Ron felt a wave of warmth come over him. Judging by the look on Hermione's face, she had felt it too.  
  
Every time our eyes meet  
This feeling inside me  
Is almost more than I can take.  
Baby when you touch me  
I can feel how much you love me  
And it just blows me away.  
  
Ron wanted so badly to tell her how he felt, but he knew it could only do harm to their friendship. He suddenly realized that he and Hermione were now gazing into each other's eyes. His face began to feel hot, but he certainly didn't want to be the one to break the stare. Finally, Hermione spoke.  
  
"Ron, will you come with me?" she asked breathlessly.   
  
He pretended to think about it.  
  
"Please?" she pleaded hopefully. It took Ron about a millisecond to decide.  
  
"Okay," he replied quickly, and Hermione smiled. Ron felt jittery inside. He loved it when she smiled at him like that.  
  
They carefully opened the portrait hole and peered outside to make sure no teachers were around.  
  
"Coast is clear," Hermione whispered, and they stepped outside.  
  
She pulled the cloak over her head and motioned for him to get under it also. He draped it over his head too and stood so they were elbow to elbow.  
  
"Okay," he breathed. "Let's go."  
  
They carefully began walking down the steps from Gryffindor Tower. As they descended, Hermione's elbow bumped Ron, causing park of Ron's leg to slide out from under the cloak.   
  
"Sorry," they said to each other in unison, then smiled.   
  
"If that happens again, someone might see your leg just floating there," Hermione said worriedly. "What if Snape were to catch us?"  
  
Ron mustered up all of the courage he had and slid his arms around Hermione's waist. He was now standing directly behind her. She turned to say something, but he put a finger to her lips.   
  
"Ssh," he murmured, mentally silencing himself as well. He had been dangerously close to confessing his feelings for her.   
  
They walked carefully in silence, not wanting to awake any teachers. When they were about halfway to the library, Hermione suddenly yelped in pain.  
  
"Ow!" she cried softly.  
  
"What is it?" Ron asked worriedly. "Did I step on your foot?"  
  
"No, no, it's just that I twisted my ankle when we were turning that corner. Sorry."   
  
"No need to apologize, 'Mione. I'm sorry you hurt yourself. Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. C'mon, let's keep walking."  
  
But as soon as she took a step, she nearly crumbled to the floor. Ron tightened his hold on her and took her hands in his.   
  
"No, you're not okay. Here, let me help you," he offered.   
  
Before Hermione realized what was happening, he had picked her up and adjusted the Invisibility Cloak so they both remained invisible.  
  
"Ron, no, it's okay. You don't have to carry me, I'm fine," Hermione insisted, but Ron knew better.   
  
"It's fine, Hermione, besides, we're almost there."  
  
*~*  
  
When they reached the library, Ron let Hermione stand again. They noiselessly opened the huge doors and entered. Hermione began to limp over to the Restricted Section, and nearly fell again. She held Ron's arm for support, and they hobbled over to the corner.   
  
"Do you know what book you're looking for?" Ron whispered.  
  
"Yes, but it's right up there on the top shelf. Can you give me a boost?" Hermione asked.  
  
Ron blushed and lifted her up, suddenly very aware of how close they were. He couldn't help but notice that her hair smelled sweetly of honeysuckle, and he wanted very badly to stroke her curls. But he resisted the urge, and tried to act like it was no big deal that the woman he loved was in his arms.  
  
"Whoa," he whispered loudly when he saw the book. "I don't think we can carry that back to the common room!" The book was very heavy and very large.  
  
"I know," Hermione replied softly. "I was just going to sit in here and read until I found what I was looking for. You've helped me enough already, though. If you want to go back, it's fine with me. I'll be okay here."  
  
Ron shook his head.  
  
"No way. I'm staying," he said, with some finality in his voice.   
  
He motioned to an overstuffed couch in the corner, and suggested that they sit over there. Hermione nodded in agreement, and she leaned on Ron as they went to sit down.  
  
"Okay, I'll try to find it as quickly as possible," Hermione whispered.  
  
Ron sat down and nearly pulled Hermione on top of him.   
  
"Sorry," he whispered, but she was already engrossed in reading. He, however, was very aware of the fact that she was half sitting in his lap, leaning her head on his chest. He secretly hoped that she would take a very long time to find what she was looking for.  
*~*  
  
Two hours later, Hermione suddenly gasped.   
  
"Ron!" she cried softly. "I found it!"  
  
He hugged her in congratulations.  
  
"Good job, Hermione! So, what is it?" he whispered.  
  
"I'll tell you when we get back to the common room, which is definitely the safest place to be, because it's kind of hard to explain. I don't want to stick around here any longer, especially after reading about this creature!" she exclaimed.   
  
Hermione stood to get up. Ron's arms were still around her waist, but he didn't remove them. He wanted to stay like this for as long as possible. Unfortunately, neither of them remembered to move the large book that was in Hermione's lap, and it fell to the floor with a huge boom.   
  
"Oh, no!" Hermione cried. "That was loud enough to wake up the whole castle!"  
  
Ron pulled the Marauder's Map out of his robes. He had borrowed it the day before, and forgotten to return it to Harry.  
  
"Nope, not the whole castle, just Snape. He's headed right for us." Ron whispered.  
  
"What do we do? If he finds no one here, he'll obviously know who it was. The only four students in the castle have access to Harry's invisibility cloak, and he'll surely give us all detention!" Hermione exclaimed in a whisper.  
  
"Calm down, Hermione. I have a plan. You won't get in trouble, I promise. Okay?" Ron asked.  
  
"Okay... but what about you?" she breathed.  
  
"Look, take the invisibility cloak and go right outside in the hallway. Careful, don't let Snape hear you or accidentally run into you. I'll stay here in the library, and wait for Snape. He'll catch me, give me detention, blah blah blah. Then he'll storm off, I'll come find you, and we'll go back to the tower together. I know it still hurts for you to walk on that foot." Ron said all of this very fast.   
  
Hermione nodded in agreement with his plan. She turned around and began to hobble away with the cloak, but then turned around and gave Ron a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Ron, thank you so much for helping me. You'll never know what you- I mean, this, means to me." She blushed furiously, then turned to walk out.  
  
"It's fine, Hermione, really."   
  
"Besides, I'd do anything for you." He whispered once she was out of earshot.  
  
Hermione turned and smiled at him before pulling the cloak over her head and leaving.  
  
Ron's face was bright red. Had she heard him say that? Surely she hadn't, right? And had he heard her right? Did she almost say, "You'll never know what you mean to me?" Maybe he had been imagining it.   
  
He heard Snape's footsteps thundering down the hall, and he quickly hid the Restricted book and grabbed another one. He flopped on the couch and pretended to read.  
  
"Weasley!" Snape exclaimed. "Why are you out of bed?!"  
  
Ron just shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"Answer me!" Snape growled.  
  
"I dunno. Just readin'." Ron said casually.  
  
"Fifty points from Gryffindor! Now go back to bed!"  
  
Snape hurried off. Ron was shocked that he didn't get detention; usually Snape would take an opportunity such as this to try and get him expelled. Oh well. He wasn't about to complain. He quickly ran outside the library to find Hermione.  
  
"Hermione?" he called. No answer. He tried again. "Hermione, it's Ron. Let's go back now!" Still no answer. After several minutes, he decided that she must've gone back to the tower without him. He hesitantly left the hallway.  
  
*~*  
  
When he reached the Common Room, he was surprised to see that she wasn't waiting for him. It was empty, and the silence freaked him out. He carefully opened the door to the fifth year girls' dormitory, but couldn't see anything because it was so dark.  
  
Oh well, he thought as he climbed into his own bed in the boys' dormitory. She must be in there asleep already. I bet she's still in pain, too. I hope she feels better in the morning. I really need to tell her how I feel about her... before it's too late.  
  
(A/N: Well, how did you like the first chapter? I promise, I'll write more! I just need at least three reviews! Oh, and I've already started the second chapter, so just review, and I'll post it quick! Thanks!) 


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